People v. Saracoglu

62 Cal. Rptr. 3d 418, 152 Cal. App. 4th 1584, 2007 Cal. App. LEXIS 1133
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedJuly 9, 2007
DocketB182220
StatusPublished
Cited by34 cases

This text of 62 Cal. Rptr. 3d 418 (People v. Saracoglu) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Saracoglu, 62 Cal. Rptr. 3d 418, 152 Cal. App. 4th 1584, 2007 Cal. App. LEXIS 1133 (Cal. Ct. App. 2007).

Opinion

Opinion

KLEIN, P. J.

Defendant and appellant Attila Peter Saracoglu, appeals from the judgment entered following his conviction, by jury trial, for corporal injury to a spouse, with prior serious felony conviction findings (Pen. Code, §§ 273.5, 667, subds. (a)-(i)). Sentenced to state prison for six years, he claims there was trial error.

The judgment is affirmed.

*1587 BACKGROUND

Viewed in accordance with the usual rule of appellate review (People v. Ochoa (1993) 6 Cal.4th 1199, 1206 [26 Cal.Rptr.2d 23, 864 P.2d 103]), the evidence established the following.

Sometime between 7:00 and 7:30 p.m. on December 8, 2004, Los Angeles Police Officer David Hawkins and his partner were out on patrol when they were directed to “[c]ome to the police station for a domestic violence investigation.” When the officers arrived at the North Hollywood police station about 7:30 p.m., they were met at the front desk by a woman with a child. The woman, Rachel Saracoglu (Rachel) was nervous, crying and shaking. Hawkins testified Rachel “was very upset, very scared,” and “in a bad state.”

Rachel told Hawkins she had been assaulted by defendant Saracoglu 30 minutes earlier at “about 7:00 o’clock.” Rachel said she and Saracoglu got into an argument at home because he had left their child alone in the car when he went into a store. During the argument, Saracoglu choked Rachel from behind, pushed her and hit her. He also threatened her, saying, “You better know your place. Don’t call the police or I’ll put a bullet in your fucking head.” Rachel said she had come to the police station because she was frightened by Saracoglu’s death threat. Hawkins testified: “I don’t recall the exact wording, but she was afraid. That’s why she came to the police station. She thought he was going to take action.”

Hawkins testified he could see the following injuries on Rachel: a cut across her nose; cuts on the inside of her lip; small red marks on her left forearm; bruising around her ribs. Rachel said Saracoglu had caused these injuries, and that he had also poked her in the eye. Hawkins photographed the injuries. He asked Rachel if she wanted an emergency protective order, and she said she did.

Thereafter, Hawkins went to the couple’s residence and arrested Saracoglu, who appeared to have sustained no injuries.

Although Rachel showed up on the day set for trial to begin, she subsequently failed to honor an on-call arrangement she had made with the trial court. Even though a body attachment warrant was issued and she had assured the prosecutor she would appear, Rachel did not testify.

The only evidence at trial was Officer Hawkins’s testimony about his encounter with Rachel at the police station and his subsequent arrest of Saracoglu.

*1588 CONTENTIONS

1. The trial court erred by admitting hearsay evidence of Rachel’s statement to Hawkins.

2. The prosecutor committed misconduct during closing argument.

DISCUSSION

1. Evidence of Rachel’s extra-judicial statement was properly admitted

Saracoglu contends the trial court erred by admitting hearsay evidence of Rachel’s statement to Officer Hawkins because it was not an excited utterance and, even if it was, its admission violated the confrontation clause. This claim is meritless.

a. Rachel’s statement was a spontaneous utterance

Evidence Code section 1240 provides: “Evidence of a statement is not made inadmissible by the hearsay rule if the statement: [f] (a) Purports to narrate, describe, or explain an act, condition, or event perceived by the declarant; and [f] (b) Was made spontaneously while the declarant was under the stress of excitement caused by such perception.” “[T]he basis for the circumstantial trustworthiness of spontaneous utterances is that in the stress of nervous excitement, the reflective faculties may be stilled and the utterance may become the instinctive and uninhibited expression of the speaker’s actual impressions and belief. [SO The crucial element in determining whether a declaration is sufficiently reliable to be admissible under this exception to the hearsay rule is . . . not the nature of the statement but the mental state of the speaker. The nature of the utterance—how long it was made after the startling incident and whether the speaker blurted it out, for example—may be important, but solely as an indicator of the mental state of the declarant. The fact that a statement is made in response to questioning is one factor suggesting the answer may be the product of deliberation, but it does not ipso facto deprive the statement of spontaneity.” {People v. Farmer (1989) 47 Cal.3d 888, 903-904 [254 Cal.Rptr. 508, 765 P.2d 940], disapproved on other grounds in People v. Waidla (2000) 22 Cal.4th 690, 724, fn. 6 [94 Cal.Rptr.2d 396, 996 P.2d 46].)

The decision to admit evidence under Evidence Code section 1240 is reviewed for abuse of discretion. {People v. Phillips (2000) 22 Cal.4th 226, 236 [92 Cal.Rptr.2d 58, 991 P.2d 145].) “Whether the requirements of the spontaneous statement exception are satisfied in any given case is, in general, *1589 largely a question of fact. [Citation.] The determination of the question is vested in the court, not the jury. [Citation.] In performing this task, the court ‘necessarily [exercises] some element of discretion . . . .’ [Citation.]” (People v. Poggi (1988) 45 Cal.3d 306, 318 [246 Cal.Rptr. 886, 753 P.2d 1082]; see also People v. Pirwani (2004) 119 Cal.App.4th 770, 787 [14 Cal.Rptr.3d 673] [“We apply the abuse of discretion standard in reviewing the trial court’s determination to admit or exclude hearsay evidence. That standard applies to questions about the existence of the elements necessary to satisfy the hearsay exception.”].)

Saracoglu argues too much time had elapsed between the alleged exciting event and Rachel’s statements to Hawkins. But no more than about 30 minutes had gone by. 1 Much longer periods of time have been found not to preclude application of the spontaneous utterance hearsay exception. (See People v. Brown (2003) 31 Cal.4th 518, 541 [3 Cal.Rptr.3d 145, 73 P.3d 1137] [two and one-half hours]; People v. Raley (1992) 2 Cal.4th 870, 893-894 [8 Cal.Rptr.2d 678, 830 P.2d 712] [18 hours]; In re Emilye A. (1992) 9 Cal.App.4th 1695, 1713 [12 Cal.Rptr.2d 294] [one to two days].) The mere passage of time in this case was insufficient to deprive Rachel’s statement of spontaneity.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
62 Cal. Rptr. 3d 418, 152 Cal. App. 4th 1584, 2007 Cal. App. LEXIS 1133, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-saracoglu-calctapp-2007.